UK R107 Restoration

Hi

Exuse my lack of German - but I thought that you may be interested in following my restoration of my 1985 R107 280SL.

Please see here for pictures and text:

MY RESTORATION WEBPAGE

Id appreciate any comments - good & bad!

Thanks

Derek from the UK[ Diese Nachricht wurde bearbeitet von : SilverSaloon am 04-06-2009 17:21 ]

Derek!
Ive never seen an SL is such a poor condition.
You probably did a very time consuming and good repair job.
A restoration imho is actually a different thing - it would mean to change demaged parts of the car and not repairing them.
But still, it wouldnt have been worth it to change such expensive body parts for a 280 SL.
Finally, nice job and enjoy riding in the sun with your beauty...
Matthias

hi.

unfortunatly its not financially-viable to replace inner wing panels, chrome etc when they can be renovated/repaired.... the expense would be ££££s.

i think in the UK they rust more because of the amount of salt that is thrown onto our roads during winter!!

Derek, the ventilation of the trunk is placed inside out.

Gr,
Marcel from the Netherlands

Hey Derek,

the first pics at buying time looked quite good, but at the end it looked as storaged under water for some years. great job, but poor buy.

best regards
Jens

not a poor buy - you dont know what i paid for it

it was in average condition for an SL in the UK for under £7,000.

On 2009-06-05 10:31, SilverSaloon wrote:
not a poor buy - you dont know what i paid for it

it was in average condition for an SL in the UK that could of easy (and often do) sell for around £7,000 and under, and i paid a tiny fraction of that

Derek, after all that spended time and money the steering wheel is still screwed on the wrong side.

Norbert

Derek, the ventilation of the trunk is placed inside out.

Gr,
Marcel from the Netherlands

the black vents at either side you mean? how should they be? do you have a pic of one the right way? this is how i got the car

Derek!
Or should I say MacGyver?
What you have done with the reflectors is pretty funky.
I see theres a difference of restoration made in Germany and "How to make a presentable luxury roadster with almost no money..."
Sorry, it is not at all about insalting you. Its just that I repaired my first Fiat Panda that way. And it was a lot of work and it looked good afterwards...
Cheers
Matthias

just wondering what you consider to be a restoration then? any pics?

the car is all about having a nice car to have some summer fun in. its never going to win Concourse events and i wouldnt expect it to.

thanks

Derek

Derek!

Check this out: www.jagman-mk2.de/
Its all in German. By clicking on the pics you can follow every step of the retoration.
I think the car is within the hour back on the road again.

Dont get me worng man. You did a good job and it is a nice car. Its just funny to repair a 400 pounds head lamp with aluminum foil.

Regards

Matthias

good and solid welding, mate!


Id recommend to protect the cavities of the chassis by. e.g. injecting hot grease, oil, and/or wax.

Otherwise, corrosion will reapear - me thinks - in due time, since Ive spotted some rusty spots that you might not have replaced.

Cheers,

Michael[ Diese Nachricht wurde bearbeitet von : Mr_T am 09-06-2009 15:21 ]

All the "box sections/chassis members" of the car have been injected with waxoil, as have the sills.

The blog is getting continuously updated - OK, yes hehe i fixed the headlamp with foil tape - they are very expensive for new lights and as the car wont be driven in the dark anyway as its a summer car then i decided to spend the money elsewhere. the lights are still "ok" and im keeping an eye out for a good set of 2nd hand replacements.

Saying that, many new genuine Mercedes items have been purchased which include brand new wings, front bumper chrome, rear chrome, whole rear valance, bumper irons, post 85 front spoiler, many trim fixings, bolts etc. obviously a lot of new paint and eventually a new leather re-trim. brand new leather steering wheel, aerial etc etc.

I know.
Every single item is a packet!


I guess its not more expensive to own a Rolls Rovce...
Matthias

On 2009-06-08 17:42, SilverSaloon wrote:

Derek, the ventilation of the trunk is placed inside out.

Gr,
Marcel from the Netherlands

the black vents at either side you mean? how should they be? do you have a pic of one the right way? this is how i got the car

Ventilation Inside the trunk



Ventilation Outside of the trunk



Gr,
Marcel[ Diese Nachricht wurde bearbeitet von : Dewalt am 09-06-2009 19:57 ]

thanks. ill swap it round when i get started at the back of the car